Takao Wada was born on 24 June 1953 and is a Japanese former racing driver.
14 Facts About Takao Wada
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Takao Wada competed at the top level of Japanese Open Wheel racing between 1977 and 1993, scoring two wins, one pole position and five podium finishes over a career that spanned 14 seasons and 90 races, but he was better known for winning the 1979 Japanese Formula Pacific Championship and the 1986 Japanese Touring Car Championship.
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That year, Takao Wada finished 6th in the Japanese F2 series on his first full-time season, but he was involved in a serious crash at the final race at Suzuka, shortly after winning the Pacific title on the same weekend.
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Takao Wada lost consciousness and entered into cardiopulmonary arrest, being removed carelessly on a stretcher with his head unsecured before being revived at the medical centre.
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Takao Wada suffered a concussion and spent three months in a hospital before making a full recovery.
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Takao Wada took part for the first time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he became the first Japanese driver to ever complete the race, which would be followed by four straight retirements in the following years.
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Takao Wada had a successful first foray into the newborn Japanese Touring Car Championship, winning the title along Aguri Suzuki at the wheel of a Nissan Skyline.
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From 10th on the grid, Takao Wada took the lead over Ross Cheever and pulled a 50-second lead as attrition took its toll.
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When trying to put Lees a lap down, Takao Wada went off the track and spun onto the path of other cars.
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Takao Wada was able to continue with a reasonable pace and a slightly bent suspension, which gradually damaged the brake hose.
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Akihiko Nakaya approached quickly, but ran out of time, and Takao Wada won the race by 0.32 seconds, despite thinking he still had one more lap left.
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Takao Wada escaped a fatal fate for the second time in 1991, during an All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship race at Fuji.
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The car erupted in flames and was upside down as it stopped rolling, but Takao Wada was able to sprint out of the machine uninjured before fellow driver Johnny Herbert could get to him, having stopped his own car to help him.
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Takao Wada last raced in open-wheel racing in the 1993 season, being one of only nine drivers who has competed in 14 or more seasons in Super Formula and its predecessors.